4774Papa

I have been trying to convince my son and his family (2 adults and 2 kids) to vacation with us on a cruise, likely in the Caribbean.

He wants to rent a house near the beach on the NC Outer Banks.   Last time we did that a few years ago, the rent for the house for a week was $4500.   

I told him that we could all do a cruise for about the same money.

My wife and I have cruised once with our adult daughter with NCL in an aft balcony.  We managed OK with three in the cabin, but I can't imagine doing a cabin with four persons.

If my Son has to get two cabins, then the cost would go up significantly.    We could split the kids and have one in our cabin.

Are there any larger cabins on RCL ships that could easily handle four persons?   Would a suite be the only viable option?    Suites would up the price as well.

I stopped drinking soda of any kind 20 years ago.  I have read that soda is not good at all for your health.

I finally was able to check my current prices against the new prices and I am better off with the old prices.

I know that Royal and Celebrity once had a policy that before final payment if the fares dropped that they would give you the new lower rate.   Is that still the case?

We usually use flyer miles to fly back to the USA.

Also, once we bought air travel through Celebrity (cruise was on Celebrity).

4 hours ago, F355c5 said:

Have you been on a ship of RCCI lately?
main dining room food is not very good.

and that’s being kind

Last Royal cruise was in 2019, pre COVID.

15 hours ago, molsonschooner said:

so you prefer the evening meal be without shorts and t-shirts. Do you want people to go naked?

I suppose some people would prefer that, but not me.

For and evening meal, even to restaurants in my local area, I always wear a shirt with a collar and trousers, not shorts and t-shirt.  We only dine out a couple of times a month and want to make it special.  It is nice to see other diners with the same.  

I remember when I was a kid in the 50s, even when we went to the Dairy Queen, my dad would wear his coat and tie and mom dressed nice.   Clearly that is not the culture today.

Royal excels in entertainment.    We thought that NCL's entertainment was awesome, but Royal was even better.

As for dining, Royal is consistently better for MDR dining than NCL.  Celebrity is the best compared to NCL and Royal, but Royal is not far behind.

On 11/8/2022 at 7:17 PM, BearJim said:

We are sailing on the Mariner in a couple weeks on a 5 day cruise. It's been a few years since we cruised on Royal Caribbean & we are so looking forward to it! I was wondering what the basic cost of an adult beverage is these days w/o the drink package.

 

We usually get the drink package but I seemed to have missed the discounted price for packaging the drink package with internet. I think it was around $77 for both around a month ago but now the current drink package is over $83 per person, per day which to me is crazy. But I also know that everything costs more these days since covid.

 

Any info would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

If you were diamond, you would get four free drinks a day, which is plenty for us.   

While, I understand the idea that people should be able to dress down, I personally prefer that the evening meal should be without the shorts and t-shirts.   We live in South Georgia and find that in most restaurants you can dress that way, even the top ones, but they usually keep the AC so  cold, that we would be freezing wearing shorts and t-shirts.

On 10/15/2021 at 7:40 AM, gerryuk said:

War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy. 

Anna Karenina is my favorite by Tolstoy.

On 9/29/2021 at 9:58 AM, Clay Clayton said:

You sound like us! Well except for the part about taking 40 and 50 day cruises. We haven’t done that yet…have our eye on Viking’s 33 day roundtrip LA cruise to Hawaii and French Polynesia but it sold out so fast…fingers are crossed that they decide to put on another or someone cancels. 
 

Regarding biz airfare, we have found that one way to lower the cost is to buy a roundtrip ticket that commences in Europe-usually not one of the obvious cities. For example, in 2018 we cruised from San Juan to Barcelona in March, flew back from Copenhagen via Lisbon to Miami, then in September flew back to Copenhagen, did a baltic cruise then spent a few weeks on land in Europe before sailing back to the US from Rome.  Those flights were on TAP and cost $1300 per person roundtrip. Of course we had to pay for the flights to and from Copenhagen which cost about $200 roundtrip per person. But $1500 and a little effort was a lot better than the one way or even roundtrip air fares we found leaving from the US. 

I have frequently used my DeltaSkymiles for the one way flight when doing a TransAtlantic or TransPacific cruise.   

Drink Packages =  TOOO DA-N MUCH  $$$$

On 10/10/2022 at 10:11 AM, nanatutu said:

We are kind of the opposite. John and I enjoy sitting on the balcony in our robes, having our coffee and continental breakfast, and viewing the early morning scenery.

 

BTW, congratulations on your milestones this year…20th anniversary, 1st suite, and 1st crystal block. 

 

Enjoy your upcoming Independence cruise!

 

John and Pam
 

On our first cruise we booked an oveanview cabin.  It worked out OK for us, but on our next cruise the cost of a balcony was not much more, so we went with a balcony.  Now, my wife won't go back to an ocean view.

One thing, we used to pick our balcony room and pay a little extra for location, but now we are good with whatever balcony we come up with.  We did a suite once, paid a bit for the upgrade just before the cruise, but we found that paying full price for a suite just was a waste.

On 10/4/2022 at 7:25 AM, fwman said:

Does anyone know the per drink prices.

The alcohol drink package for 2 with gratuities is $1288 for 7 nights. That works out to $92 per day / per person. I’m guessing that’s about 6 alcohol drinks per day per person. I don’t think we will have that many every day but will drink water which is included.

 

Thanks

We are diamond and have never paid for alcohol on a Royal C. cruise.   We became diamond via Celebrity elite.

We find the drink packages to be way too much, but we are moderate drinkers and four drinks a day is plenty for us.

We drink the ship's tap water, don't drink coffee after breakfast or sodas.

4 hours ago, 2chiefs said:

Hi 4774Papa

For Ft Lauderdale we use the Hampton Inn Parking on 12th street. We arrive a day early and stay there overnight. They charge a minimum of $60 for up to 10 days. Then it's $7.50 per day after the first 10 days. They charge $15 per person for the shuttle but it's so close that we find a taxi or uber is much more convenient, so we don't use the shuttle.

 

For Port Canaveral, we used a Hampton Inn once and it was $10 per day (several years ago) but we don't use it anymore. We priced the Homewood Suites nearby and they were reasonable as well but we opt for the cruise terminal parking even though they charge a whopping $17 per day because of how easy, convenient and fast you can get in and out.

Our cruise is a transatlantic of 14 days and we are spending another two weeks in Italy before returning.  

We used the Courtyard by Marriott 10 years ago and they didn't charge extra for parking, of course, now they do.   Our flight back to the USA arrives in Miami a bit after midnight, so we will likely find a hotel at the Miami Airport and pickup our car the later in the morning, or catch a taxi immediately to the Marriott and stay there before we drive back to Georgia.

No one mentioned what these parking places charge per day.

We always drive down from Georgia and stay in a hotel that provides inexpensive parking for our cruise.

14 hours ago, 3red7s said:

We are D+ with RC, but with Covid it has been quite some time since we sailed with them.  I am debating as to whether or not to get a water package.  We used to be able to go to the concierge lounge and take a couple bottles back to our room.  Is that still allowed?  Thank you 

We drink the ship's tap water and never have any problems.

On 9/24/2022 at 7:28 AM, alaska2023 said:

We’re on Harmony this Sunday, and have been watching this one closely. It’s path is clearer now, and is headed for Florida, likely mid-week. Was thought to be named Hermine, but ended up named Ian instead. Stay safe, everyone.

Apparently, the track of Ian, based on models, has moved west and it is likely to hit south of Tallahassee.  If that is the case, you should go ahead with your cruise.

Still, it can change.

On 9/24/2022 at 7:28 AM, alaska2023 said:

We’re on Harmony this Sunday, and have been watching this one closely. It’s path is clearer now, and is headed for Florida, likely mid-week. Was thought to be named Hermine, but ended up named Ian instead. Stay safe, everyone.

Apparently, the track of Ian, based on models, has moved west and it is likely to hit south of Tallahassee.  If that is the case, you should go ahead with your cruise.

Still, it can change.

3 hours ago, island lady said:

 

That is the difficulty I am having for the next two years.  😉 

We are booked on Odyssey of the Seas transatlantic cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome 22 April 2023.  Not sure if it is sold out.

2 hours ago, 3kidsncats said:

You will still get C&A coupons for things like 50% off a glass of wine/beer, that are not the same thing as the voucher. There is no longer a free happy hour in the DL other than appetizers — any drinks you order during the happy hour will either be using a voucher or charged to your account.  

Please explain C&A Coupons>

We started cruising with NCL (7) and Celebrity (11) and moved to Royal Caribbean because we could transfer our elite status to diamond and we found two Royal C. cruises that beat the heck out of anyone else.  Both cruises were on medium sized ships (not mega ships).  We prefer smaller to medium sized ships.

Our worst cruise was on the NCL Epic, a poorly designed Mega ship.

We have done 12 cruises on Celebrity, 7 on NCL and 2 on Royal.

We are Elite on Celebrity and Diamond on Royal (due to transfer from X).   Celebrity's elite happy hour is now of marginal value, since X changed it pricing regarding the drink package.   For a couple of years, you were forced into the drink package (we never want that since we are moderate drinkers).  Celebrity now offers basic pricing for a lower amount, but the difference is not huge.

On the other hand, Royal's Diamond four free drinks anywhere allows us to order wine with dinner, so we never pay for alcohol on a cruise.   Also, Royal's prices are better than Celebrity's.

Celebrity's ship design is great, but Royal's are not so bad.  I do miss on some Royal ships they don't have the aft bar just outside the buffet.   

Celebrity's main dining room dining is better than Royal's, but not by much.  Both are better than NCL's.

Royal's buffet is not as good as Celebrity, especially the salad bar, but you can dine in the MDR for lunch and there is a great salad bar.

Entertainment is better on Royal and NCL as well.   It is not bad on Celebrity, just nothing like what Royal has.  Loved the ice shows on Royal.

1 hour ago, moposh said:

I was surprised that some shore excursions for an April cruising are sold out.  

 

Recent cruise was full.  I wouldn't mind cruising with fewer people.

Our TA from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome in April/May has not excursions available.